What I saw at the Faire

I was apprehensive about writing this post. I assumed that it would be an easy, quick description of the Mini-Maker Faire. A run-through about the objects and devices on display. A very cut and dry kind of post, but once I started writing, I realized that I had made many observations that day that were not particularly about the objects on display, but the people who were there.

I knew it was going to be an exciting day. I thought I was going to get caught up in trying to see everyone’s creations and products, but that’s not what happened. My focus was directly on the makers, the visitors, the children, the people who were here and the ways they interacted with each other. Here was this congregation of makers who came together as a community to transform the Museum. This realization affected my entire outlook on the event.

The day was not about what people had made and put on display. It was about the people themselves…The makers, the staff, the visitors. Sunday was a very special day for the Museum. We may be considered a Museum for children, but I saw plenty of adults having the time of their lives during the Faire. The Maker Faire helped solidify the fact that the Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh is a place where anyone can have fun.

-Kevin

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Great post! I think that the social interactions that day were unique. This was especially true at the soldering station in the MakeShop. We had an 80 year old couple soldering right next to a 4 year old and her father. None of them had ever soldered before. We had a non-English speaking child working with our staff member and two other children. We had a teenager teaching soldering to an adult. We had a mother and a son learning how to solder together. It was amazing!